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Top of the world: Patty Mills an NBA champ

Getty

Getty

Australia’s Patty Mills and Aron Baynes are NBA champions.

The San Antonio Spurs, helped by a barrage of Mills three-pointers and big plays from the Canberra-born point guard, defeated Miami 104-87 to give them a 4-1 series victory and the team’s fifth championship since 1999.

Despite a ferocious home crowd, the Spurs started poorly on Sunday with the Heat scoring the first eight points and finishing the first quarter leading 29-22.

The Heat cooled off in the second quarter and the Spurs ran away with the game.

Mills also had a slow start, hitting just one of his first four shots, but he was electrifying in the third quarter on the offensive and defensive ends.

In a five minute stretch, Mills hit four three-pointers, blew past LeBron James for a reverse layup and drew an offensive foul from Ray Allen.

He scored 14 of his 17 points in the quarter.

Spurs’ starting point guard Tony Parker had 14, but it was Mills, Manu Ginobili with 19 and Kawhi Leonard with 22 who trounced the Heat in the second and third quarters.

James had 31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots for the game, but he was let down by the Heat’s other All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who scored 11 and 13 respectively.

A year ago when the Heat beat the Spurs in an epic seven game series Mills was inactive in for four of the games and played just 13 minutes overall.

Mills played 17 minutes in the championship winning game.

When he walked off the court late in the fourth quarter with the Spurs well ahead the San Antonio crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Mills and forward Baynes, who came on in the final two minutes and scored two points, join Australian basketball greats Luc Longley and Andrew Gaze as Australians with NBA Championship rings.

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